


Baby It's Cold Outside

by Cweezy88



Category: The Mindy Project
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-29
Updated: 2014-01-03
Packaged: 2018-01-06 13:54:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1107637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cweezy88/pseuds/Cweezy88
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A snow storm blows through New York City, causing Mindy and Danny to be stranded in Danny's condo</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Mindy was aware of the risk. The weather was terrible but she needed that jacket. “Why did I have to leave my favorite coat at Danny’s” she thought to herself. She knocked on the door of Danny’s condo. Danny opened the door. He was wearing flannel pajama pants and a black V neck, clearly not expecting company.   
"Mindy what are you doing here?" He asked, a little annoyed to see her. He was having Danny time. That consisted of watching a good documentary and drinking a few beers. When he was toasty he was going to fiddle around with the piano.   
"Hello to you too, Mr. Castellano." She replied. "Danny remember when I stayed the night?"  
"Vaguely" He lied. His mouth went dry and his body started to perspire. Every time he thought about that night he got anxious. That night changed everything. That was the night that he realized his true feelings for his best friend.   “Well I left my favorite coat here and I need it to finalize my outfit, for my date with Cliff. Were gonna have dinner at his place, on his patio under the stars. We’ll drink wine and slow dance. Then….”  
"Ok. Enough." Danny interrupted. " You came all the way here for a jacket you are going to wear in front of Cliff for two minutes"  
"It’s called making an impression, I wouldn’t expect you to understand." She looked him up and down, noticing his super casual outfit.   
"I wasn’t expecting company."  
"Yea. Well obviously. I need it so, excuse me" she pushed past Danny to make her way into his condo.   
"Come on in." Danny grumbled, while rolling his eyes. "Check the closet" Danny sat on the couch to continue his documentary. Suddenly the program was interrupted by breaking news. The news anchorman was suddenly on the tv screen.  
"We interrupt your program to inform you that a snow storm is blowing through the city. Everyone is encouraged to stay indoors, until the storm passes. Thank you and have a great night." It was a quick announcement. Danny ran his hand through his hair and let it rest on the back of his neck.   
"Oh boy" he let out. Stuck alone with Mindy in his home, again. This time he was so aware of his feelings for her. What did that mean. She was with Cliff so his feelings didn’t matter.  
"Danny, why do you have so many T-shirts? Is it because you swea….found it" Mindy walked out coat in hand, on a mission to leave. Danny caught her arm.  
"Yeaaa. Your not going anymore"  
"Danny what are you doing. Are you going to murder me. Oh gosh, I knew it. Always the silent types."She started rambling on when Danny cut in.   
"Relax, I’m not going to murder you. There’s a snow storm, you can’t leave. You’re gonna have to wait it out here." He explained.   
"What, but my date with Cliff" she complained. She walked to the window. Maybe it wasn’t too bad. She would endure a few snow flurries for a date with the man of her dreams. When she reached the window though, all she saw was white. She let out a huge sigh. Just her luck. She walked over to the couch and plopped down.   
"Hand me a beer Castellano. Looks like were gonna be here for a while. What are we watching anyways?"  
"It’s a documentary on the Industrial Reveloution"  
"Riveting " Mindy replied sarcastically. "This can’t get any worse" she thought to herself. As if the gods were testing her theory. The power suddenly went out in the entire building.


	2. Chapter 2

Mindy was bored out of her mind. Danny was reading a book on his fully charged IPad and she was sitting all the way on the other side of the couch looking at Facebook. They were sitting in almost complete darkness, except for the two candles Danny had lit. Post after post, on Facebook, was about the storm, as if she needed a reminder that Mother Nature was sabotaging her love life. She finally decided to stop torturing herself , and redirected her attention to Danny. She studied the features of his face, as it was illuminated by the light of the IPad. He was wearing his adorable red reading glasses. His big brown eyes, perfect nose and his lips. Her eyes lingered on his beautiful full lips. She was lost in thoughts of his lips when suddenly Danny broke the silence.   
"What" he asked with a puzzled expression.  
Mindy was horrified that she had been caught checking out Danny Castellano. What the hell was that about. Cabin fever? They were without power for 45 mins, had she already gone crazy.   
" Mindy, are you ok." There was panic in his voice. "Is it too cold in here. Are you in some type of mental shock??"   
"Danny, relax. I’m trying to figure out what planet those stupid glasses are cool on." Mindy snapped back. She got off the couch, grabbed one of the candles a and took off to the bathroom. After 10 mins in the bathroom, Mindy returned. In the bathroom she had looked through Danny’s cabinets to calm her down. She had decided that her momentary lapse of sanity was nothing. When she arrived back in the living room, Danny was setting his IPad up. Mindy was confused.   
"Planning to reenact your secret Santa gift for me" she joked. That dance had left her weak in the knees, but it was a moment short lived, and it was Cliff, who was the one who swept her off her feet later on that night. Danny blushed. He thanked the gods for the dimness of the room, so Mindy couldn’t see how bright red his face had turned.  
"Ummm no. You seemed like you were in need of a distraction. I know you want to be with Cliff right now, but maybe we can make the best out of a crappy situation." He explained.  
"What are we gonna do" Mindy exclaimed. She was a little excited. She really did need something to distract her from the fact that she wasn’t with the man of her dreams.   
"We’re gonna dance" he responded, a little shy.  
“Danny no! I’m not coordinated, like you. I will fall on my face. I’m also not good at following choreography.” Mindy’s voice was panicked. She wasn’t good or drunk enough to dance in front of Danny. His nickname was lord of the dance, around the office.  
"We can start with a slow song. I will lead." Danny extended his hand out to Mindy. She hesitated then took it. She didn’t understand why her stomach did a flip as he led her towards the stereo. Danny pressed play on the IPad and the living room was filled with music. The National’s "I Need My Girl" , began to play. Danny placed one of Mindy’s hands on his shoulder and held the other up in his hand. He placed his other hand on the small of her back, and they began to sway. After a minute of dancing with Danny, Mindy felt like she was floating. Her heart was thumping so hard against her chest. She couldn’t believe how right it felt. Without thinking, she placed her head on Danny’s chest. Danny exhaled a breath that he had been holding in, for what felt like forever.   
(The national singing) “Remember when you lost your shit and drove your car into the garden. You got out and said Im sorry, to the vines and no one saw it. I need my girl” Danny let out a low chuckle. Mindy could feel it through her body.   
"What’s so funny?" She asked.  
"That part, just always reminds me of you" he replied. Mindy had to admit, it did sound like something she would do. She smiled and buried her face into Danny’s chest. Inhaling his intoxicating scent. The weren’t swaying anymore. Mindy had let go of Danny’s hand and wrapped both arms around him. She started to cry.   
Danny pulled away enough to see her face but didn’t let go. Mindy dared to look at him, tears in her eyes.  
"Are you ok" Danny asked very gentle.  
"You know me so well Danny. Better than any man I’ve dated. You know that I’m a mess but you don’t run away. You’re always there for me. And I guess I just realized how important you are to me." Danny stared at Mindy.   
"Ok" was all he could manage to say. Clearly not the response Mindy was looking for, she broke from Danny’s embrace to walk away.   
Danny grabbed her hand and pulled her back in to his arms. He brushed her cheek, wiping any remaining tears away. Then grasped the back of her neck and pulled her into a passionate kiss. Suddenly the lights flickered on. Danny and Mindy stood frozen, looking at each other.


	3. Chapter 3

Mindy felt like the room was spinning. She and Danny stood motionless. It was as though they had been put on pause. Suddenly Mindy’s phone rang. She was snapped back to reality and ran to get it.  
"Hello, Cliff!" Her voice was high pitched with surprise. " I’m fine, just here with Danny. Are you ok. Great. Well i’ll see you tomorrow then. Ok, bye"   
Mindy ended her call with Cliff, feeling super confused. She dared to look at Danny. His back was towards her, he was staring intensely out the window. Mindy didn’t know what to do. Should she approach him, maybe she should leave. Danny took a deep breath and turned around to face Mindy.   
"I’m sorry, Mindy." Danny seemed shameful. "  
"Danny. It was the heat of the moment. I get it. But…"Mindy tried to interrupt but Danny wasn’t having it.  
"Mindy, I’m sorry for a lot of things. I’m sorry I took those nudes for Christina. I’m sorry that I make people listen to my piano playing. I’m sorry that I’m a selfish jerk sometimes. I’m also sorry that you are dating Cliff, because I’m not sorry that I kissed you. If anything I’m sorry I didn’t do it sooner. There are so many times I wanted to."  
"Christmas party?" Mindy couldn’t resist.  
"Yea"  
"Then why didn’t you." Mindy felt her self getting worked up.   
" Because you were drunk Mindy, and you felt pathetic. It wouldn’t have been fair. It wouldn’t have been right." Danny couldn’t believe he was saying all of this. He didn’t mean to. words just seemed to be falling out of his mouth."  
"Then why. Why did you think it was ok to kiss me , a few minutes ago." Mindy couldn’t control her emotions. She was so confused, Danny wanted to be the good guy when she was single, but felt it was appropriate to kiss her now that she was dating Cliff.   
"Well?" She gestured for Danny to explain himself.  
"Because, Mindy. For the first time ever it felt like you wanted me too. Not as a backup plan, but because I was important to you. Just like you said. And I could see it in your eyes…"  
"See what" Mindy whispered.  
"See me as more than a friend. I could see that you were exactly where you wanted to be, with me." Danny walked over to the table and took a swig of his beer. He was just now realizing how dry his mouth was. Mindy was paralyzed with shock. She didn’t know what to say. Mindy Lahiri was left speechless by none other than Daniel Castellano.   
"Mindy. What do you want?" Danny continued."Do you want me to act like it never happened. I’ll do it. I will go back to being your friend. I’m pretty good at hiding my feelings." Now Danny was walking towards her. She stepped back but walked into a wall. There was no escape.  
"What do you want" Danny asked again, except this time he whispered it in her ear. Mindy responded not with words, but Danny got his answer. She pulled him towards her and kissed him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter. I'm so excited so many of you enjoyed this fan fic. It was my first one. I had an idea I just wanted out of my head and I'm happy I got to share it with you all. Can't wait to write more.

The storm raged on but Mindy never felt more safe than she did wrapped up in Danny's arms. With every passing moment, their kiss intensified. Much to Mindy's surprise, Danny broke away suddenly. Mindy was left panting like a dog. She still felt Danny's lips on hers. She licked her lips, tasting his kiss. Danny had his eyes closed, rubbing his temples. He seemed to be stressed.

"What is it?" Mindy questioned. She could see that something was conflicting him. She reached out to touch his hand. He accepted the contact and grabbed her hand.

"Mindy I need to know something." His puppy dog eyes, met hers. She didn't say anything, she just squeezed his hand to encourage him to continue. Danny couldn't resist . He bent down and kissed Mindy on the forehead. He took a deep breath.

"Mindy, i need to know what's gonna happen between us, when you leave. You have a boyfriend to get back to. He's everything you want in a man. Hot shot metrosexual guy. He's hip to the times. I'm just me. Too sweaty. We have no common interest, we fight constantly. I don't regret one moment of this night. I've had dreams that don't even come close to how this night has been. But I just know that when you walk out the door, it will be over. " He looked down.

"You're right. Cliff is everything I've ever wanted in a man. We make sense. We are a power couple. I've heard people say we are the Jay Z and Beyoncé of the professional world." Without warning, she gathered her things and left the condo.

Danny stood there stunned. Mindy had left and everything that they shared that night was over. One minute Mindy was in his arms, the next, she was on her way to the man she loved. Danny turned the tv to the weather channel to make sure the storm had calmed. A minute later there was a knock on the door. Danny opened the door to find Mindy staring back at him.

" I just remembered one little problem with Cliff. It's pretty much a deal breaker for me." Mindy explained.

"What's that?" Danny asked.

"His name isn't Daniel Castellano"

"What?" Danny was at a lost for words.

"Well, I called Cliff and told him all the great things you said about him. He was flattered BTW. But he wasn't too happy when I told him that we couldn't be together. Unfortunately, my heart is taken by a sweaty, argumentative, old school Itailian. With a crazy obsession with Bruce Springsteen and the city of New York."

Danny cracked Mindy a crooked smile.

"New York City." He joked.

"Jesus Danny, I'm trying to tell you I love you. You know what, I'm gonna just tell Cliff that I made a huge mistake and beg for his forgiveness." Mindy jokingly turned to walk away. Danny grabbed her hand and pulled her into a loving kiss. The kind of kiss that only two people completely aware of their love, could share. Mindy and Danny walk hand in hand to the couch and sit down.

"Hey I think my documentary is still on!" Danny enthusiastically grabs the remote.

"I don't think so." Mindy objected. " RHONY is on."

" Oh come on. Min, I know for a fact you've seen this one. "

"Look man. You wanted it, you got it. I make my boyfriends watch trashy tv with me."

Danny couldn't help but smile at Mindy's use of the word "boyfriend".

"You win this time , Lahiri ." Danny surrendered the remote to Mindy.She took it enthusiastically, kissing Danny before turning all of her attention to the housewives. He draped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. He was hooked and he didn't mind one bit.


End file.
